Three golfers with the same surname played in the final group of the State 5A Girls High School Golf Championship on Tuesday, but by the end of the day, one clearly stood out from the others.
Overland junior Somin Lee pulled away from Patricia Lee of Highlands Ranch and Shinwoo Lee of Cherry Creek during the last round at CommonGround Golf Course to finally capture the one in-state junior title that had eluded her.
Somin Lee, the 2009 CWGA Junior Player of the Year, built an eight-stroke lead after 27 holes, then coasted to a six-shot win in the first state championship ever held at CommonGround, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” she said.
Indeed, while Lee has accomplished so much in Colorado junior golf, including winning the last three CWGA junior championships, she couldn’t lay her hands on the state high school trophy until Tuesday. She was disqualified from the state tournament as a freshman. And last year, she led after the first round, but dropped back to finish third.
Perhaps because of how long she’s had to wait for the title, Lee said afterward she would rank this as her top golf accomplishment to date.
After an amazing 2-under-par 71 in the opening round — shot primarily during Monday’s extreme winds — Lee closed with a 75 on Tuesday for an even-par 146 total. Her two playing partners in the final round, both also of Korean descent, were her closest challengers. Patricia Lee finished with a second-round 78 and at 152 overall. Shinwoo Lee (also a 78 Tuesday) shared third place at 155 with Doherty’s Paige Crawford (75).
“Going in (to the final round), I knew three shots was not that big a difference,” Patricia Lee said. “I knew if I played hard, I could get it, but she’s just a phenomenal player. Congratulations to her. Maybe next year.”
Somin Lee was only briefly pressured during the final 18. After falling behind by five, Patricia Lee birdied No. 3, matching Somin on the hole, then drove the green on the 380-yard par-4 fourth hole. She then rolled in her 15-foot putt for an eagle. Somin, who encountered bunker problems off the tee, needed to one-putt to salvage a par and lose only two strokes to Patricia Lee.
“(Patricia’s eagle) made me kind of nervous — shaky a little bit,” Somin admitted. “But I knew I had chances to get birdies and more holes to play, so “¦”
Birdies on the sixth and seventh holes rebuilt Somin’s comfortable lead, and not even playing her final 11 holes in 5 over par made a difference.
“I had a strong start, but on the back nine the pace slowed,” Lee said. “Waiting screwed me up a little bit. I wanted to play better, but I still won, so who cares?”
Meanwhile, for the first time in school history, Arapahoe claimed a state team title in girls golf, winning by 14 shots over Cherry Creek. Skyline, the defending 5A champion, placed third.
Arapahoe put three players in the top 13 overall. Sarah Moore was eighth, Claudia Davis 11th and Katy Dyachkova 13th.
–5A SCORES
“¢WOOD WINS SECOND STRAIGHT 4A TITLE: Salida senior Emily Wood became the first player in the last five years to win back-to-back Colorado high school girls golf titles, rallying to capture the Class 4A championship Tuesday at The Links at Cobble Creek in Montrose.
Wood, who will play college golf at the University of Wyoming, shot a 3-under-par 69 Tuesday — a nine-stroke improvement over Monday. Her 3-over-par 147 total gave her a three-stroke victory over first-round leader Allie Johnston of Rock Canyon, who closed with a 76. Kathleen Kershisnik of Regis, the 2009 runner-up, placed third at 151.
Wood made six birdies in her final round. She became the first back-to-back state high school girls golf champion since Mullen’s Ashley Tait won in 2004 and 2005. Tait also claimed the title in 2002.
Regis claimed its first girls golf state team championship, beating defending champion Rock Canyon by 14 strokes.
